Newsletter

Posted January 31, 2013 07:57 pm

What Others Say: Chambliss' retirement is a warning (The Brunswick News)

Chambliss' retirement is a warning

Chambliss’ retirement is a warning

The recent announcement by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss that he will not seek another six-year term in the U.S. Senate was indeed a surprise to many. More than that, it was a warning of what might lie ahead for the nation, a country of 300 million Americans hobbled by partisan fighting.

Say what you want about Chambliss, but at least he was willing to listen to all sides of an argument.

On occasion he would abandon his own preconceived notions and position for a compromise he felt would benefit the nation. It was not always popular among the party faithful, but, the Republican from Moultrie felt, some movement forward — even if just by inches — was better than no movement at all. What some revered as statesmanship others derided as selling out. Go figure.

Rest assured, Chambliss, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives before winning one of Georgia’s two Senate seats, had seen more than his share of congressional impotence over the years. It was bad then, but it’s even worse now. A lot worse.

Cats and dogs get along better than Democrats and Republicans in Washington these days. Members of the two parties spend more time hissing, scratching and clawing at each other than they do working cooperatively to resolve the serious issues — very serious issues — that are chipping away at the nation’s character and eroding its strength. Other nations are beating us in every corner of the global ring, save for the amount of hot, do-nothing air generated by politicians.

The United States needs more people like Chambliss. It needs more level-headed individuals who, as cornball as this might sound, think America first and Democrat or Republican second.

Perhaps that sounds a little too ideal for this day and age, but it certainly beats the alternative, which is to continue the path to ruin.

—The Brunswick News

What Others Say: Chambliss' retirement is a warning (The Brunswick News)